new products Archives - TSA Knives Blog

Posted on April 25, 2018 by Gholmes2 — Leave a comment

New Products Added To The Storefront

A couple of new products arrived this week I wanted to mention.

The first is truly a new item to to TSA Knives. It’s the “Baddest Bee” Fire Fuses. Being a camper and always interested in a better way to get a fire lit in the outdoors, I just had to try these out. Each water resistant tube contains 8 fire fuses approximately 4″ in length.

In addition to the 3 pak of the Fire Fuses, there’s also a Kit available that includes a small pak of the Fire Fuses, a small fire steel and a ‘collapsible’ bellows.

The Fire Fuse is incredibly simple to use and effective. Simply take one of the fuses, fray the end a bit with your knife tip.

And throw a good spark from your Fire Steel and….voila!!!!

Stick the fuse under your kindling and you’ve soon got a campfire. The Fire Fuses burn fairly slow and can be snuffed out once your fire is started so you can save the remaining fuse for later use. They come in a water resistant tube, work under wet conditions and from what I’ve experienced are idiot proof.

The next item isn’t really ‘new’ but deserves mention. I originally received some of the EdgPro Apex Bench Mounts some time back but failed to make much mention of them. A customer ordered one from me this week and asked why I’d never made mention of them on the blog. My apologies.

It’s an incredibly simple device to resolve a common issue. You previously needed a smooth surface such as a formica, granite or similar solid type of surface to mount the Apex Sharpener. This simple bench mount makes it possible to mount it on most surfaces with an edge you can attach a clamp to.

The other ‘new’ item is an expansion of the line of Blackjack Classic knives I carry. I’ve long been a fan of the Bark River line and the Blackjacks are quickly growing on me. The Blackjacks have a strong Randall influence but are much more affordable AND available. They’re built by the folks at Bark River primarily using the time proven A2 tool steel. Good stuff. Fit and finish is outstanding and they come with a razor sharp convex ground edge.

Camping season is coming and the Blackjack line offers some great camp knives. I just received a good sized order and will put together some sale prices on a couple of the Blackjacks to give you a chance to try one out at a great price. Keep an eye on the blog.

I’m always on the hunt for something new and the Edge Pro, Fire Fuses and Blackjacks fit the bill. The key is, I’ve gotta believe it’s a great product or I don’t want to carry it. If I wouldn’t use it I sure as hell don’t expect my customers to!!

Posted on February 10, 2015 by Gholmes2 — Leave a comment

Show Update & Product Additions

The show this past weekend was a pleasant surprise. It’s not a large venue, but they had over 1000 attendees come through the doors on Saturday which was a great turnout. All of the vendors I talked to agreed the folks had cash and were willing to part with it. One of the better shows I’ve had there in the last few years.

I’m really kicking myself that I didn’t have more time to look over some of the items on display. A friend of mine brought in a few pieces out of his collection of fixed blades that were incredible. I wish I could have taken a couple of pictures to share with you but time didn’t allow it. One of the outstanding pieces was an older Randall with a tiger about the size of a nickel scrimshawed on the handle. You needed a magnifier to see the detail which was gorgeous. We’ve got another show coming up the end of April and with any luck he’ll bring them along and I’ll get some pictures.

It was particularly fun to have a couple of parents show up and give me updates on their kids. I don’t remember how long I’ve been doing it, but I usually take a few spools of Paracord to the shows and tie a few bracelets, key fobs, etc in the down time. There are always a few kids that wander by and if I have the time and they have any interest, I’ll help the kids tie a bracelet. One guy brought a couple of samples of items his daughter (whom I met 2 years ago) had tied and she wanted me to check them out. Another said his daughter wanted to make sure he told me hi. She was a senior in High School when we shared some knot tying techniques and now she’s a senior in college. Yike! Good to know I made at least a few positive impressions over the years!!!

A year or so ago, I had added a few book titles to the store inventory. They sell incredibly well at the shows and I got lazy about keeping them in stock for the store! I always bring in an order prior to a show, but I’m gonna take another run at trying to keep them in stock in the storefront. Most of the titles deal with outdoor survival skills, outdoor cooking, first aid, prepping, old time trapping methods, etc. I culled out what I felt weren’t worth reading. Based on what sells at the shows and my own reading, I’ve ended up with a list of titles with pretty good content. Some of it is just fun reading whether you spend a lot of time in the outdoors or not.

Otherwise, always looking for new items!

Posted on January 17, 2015 by Gholmes2 — 4 Comments

Queen Cutlery 2015 New Releases

I was privileged to get ahold of pair of knives from Queen Cutlery this week that are yet to be released and thought I’d share a few details with you. The following are a pair of Queen Cutlery 2015 new releases. Understand I don’t have all the details yet and these are pre-production models. We should see a 2015 lineup showing up on the Queen website in the next week or two with more info but here’s a teaser.

I don’t have model numbers yet and in fact the Queen City on the right doesn’t even have tang stamps, so for now I’ll just call them large English Jacks.

This gives you a little perspective as to how big these two are. The top knife is a Queen City that will have the traditional Queen City 1095 steel. It’s just shy of 5″ close and measures 8.875″ OAL open. Surprisingly, in spite of it’s length, being just a 1/2″ wide at the thickest point helps keep the weight at 4.2 oz which I don’t think is bad for a knife this size. The Schatt & Morgan is roughly the same dimensions with an ATS34 blade, but the second blade and thicker body brings the weight up to 6.3 oz. Still not bad for knife this size.

Both knives are heavy duty work knives that feel good in the hand with the heft and strength to handle anything up to dressing out a deer. Half-stops are standard on each and I’d rate the spring tension at a smooth functioning 7. Much more user friendly then the springs in a GEC #23 with a nice positive half-stop and very solid lockup. I’ve always felt Queen did a great job balancing spring tension to pattern size and these two are great examples of just that.

I might consider some sort of sheath for belt carry particularly if you plan on carrying the two blade jack on a regular basis due to the weight. Otherwise, the rounded butt and bolster are pocket friendly and shouldn’t pose any problem digging into your leg if your wearing jeans or cutting up a pocket lining.

Another item that I’m REALLY happy about…. My understanding is there may be some changes coming on some of the Queen tang stamps and blade steels may be indicated on the tang. I have never understood why builders of premium knives would omit the type of steel the blade was made of, particularly the premium steels. To simply say the blade is stainless steel doesn’t tell anyone a thing. The difference between 420SS and ATS or some of the super powders is huge and I’d think you’d want to shout the fact from the top of the mountain if you’re using a premium steel.

My feeling was always if a manufacturer doesn’t want to mark the blade steel…. are they hiding something. The consumers today are a lot more savvy then they were 20 years ago and understand the differences in a quality steel and are usually willing to pay for it. Most of the premium knives and even some of the ‘commodity’ knives are marked. Congrats to Queen for making the change as well.

I’ll pass on any other new items in their lineup as I can. In the next few days I want to go over these two a little closer but wanted to share what I had with you now!!